


Mister Mom

by KaeCooks



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:06:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28495818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaeCooks/pseuds/KaeCooks
Summary: Kelly gets hurt on the job and has to stay home, taking care of the kids.
Relationships: Stella Kidd/Kelly Severide
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	1. Prequel

“Mayday, mayday! Firefighter down! Brett, Mackey, get over here!” Cruz called frantically. Severide had been in the backseat of a car, trying to free a victim from where they were pinned under the steering wheel when a drowsy driver crashed onto their scene, ramming the car they’d been working on from behind.

The paramedics ran over, Brett on her radio requesting two more ambos from main before beginning to assess the squad lieutenant. “Can you hear me, Lieutenant?” Brett asked, hooking him up to the monitor. There was no response.

Mackey kneeled beside her, unwrapping gauze pads for the massive gash on his forehead. 

Brett glanced at his heart rhythm. “We gotta get him to Med,” she said to Mackey before calling to the firefighters around her to help load up Severide.

Mackey quickly finished taping down the gauze and jumped into the driver’s seat of 61. She heard the rear doors slam shut and then they were off.

* * *

“Andrew Benjamin, what did you do with your clothes this time?” Stella asked her two-year-old. He’d been running around, taking his clothes off since he woke up this morning. If it weren’t for the fact that he wasn’t totally potty trained yet, she wouldn’t care that he was running around the house stark naked. Even if he would just leave the diaper on, she’d be happy. They hadn’t had these issues with five-year-old Alexander. He was an angelic firstborn.

The toddler simply grinned at her and ran back out of the nursery. 

“Andy!” she called after him, but she knew it was no use. She’d just have to hope he didn’t have any accidents before she could finish feeding the baby.

Thankfully, three-week-old Leslie decided she’d had her fill just a couple minutes later. Stella could still hear Andy giggling out in the living room. She hoped that was a good sign. 

Before she could go out to check, however, her phone rang. It was Sylvie. Stella’s heart immediately started racing. If Sylvie was calling her in the middle of shift, it could only mean one thing. She shifted Leslie into one arm and answered, “What’s wrong?” 

Sylvie’s voice was shaky on the other end. “There’s been an accident. You need to get to Med. Bring the kids. We have to go back to the scene, but Mackey called Cindy - she’s going to meet you here. Just get to Med as fast as you can.”

“Shit. Okay, on my way,” Stella stammered. She put Leslie into her carseat, grabbed the diaper bag, then went to chase down Andy to get him dressed, sending a silent thank you to whomever might be listening that Alex was in school.

* * *

Stella found Cindy waiting by the entrance when she rushed through the door. “What’s happening?” she asked, trying to mask the worry in her voice. 

“I wish I knew,” the older woman replied with a sympathetic smile. “Gianna only told me there’d been an accident and asked if I could come to watch the kids so you could see Kelly.”

She blew out a puff of air, sinking into a chair. Cindy sat next to her, pulling out a book to entertain the toddler so Stella didn’t have to worry about him.

What felt like an eternity later, Will finally appeared in the doorway.

Stella leaped out of her seat. “How is he?” she asked.

“He’s asking for you,” Will said, “I’ll fill you in on the way back.”

Stella followed Halstead back to see her husband, throwing one last glance at Cindy, who gave her an encouraging smile and waved her off. 

“So?” she asked in the hallway.

“He got lucky today,” Will said. “He has a concussion, dislocated his left knee, and broke three ribs, his right arm and right ankle. We had to put a couple screws in his arm. We started him on some painkillers, but it’s a lower dosage so he doesn’t fall asleep on us. We want to keep an eye on him with that concussion.”

For the first time in - well, she didn’t know how long - Stella finally felt like she could breathe again. “You know,” she said when he’d finished, “I don’t know if I’m more surprised he didn’t get himself here with that list sooner or at the fact that it wasn’t some crazy stunt he pulled to wind up here today.”

Will smiled at her knowingly. He’d attended to the firefighters at 51 often enough to know that they often pulled risky stunts on the job. He stopped walking short of Kelly’s room. “I’ll give you two a minute.” 

She thanked him as he turned away. Then, with one last breath to prepare herself, Stella turned the corner into her husband’s room. “Kelly,” she gasped when she saw him. He was badly bruised. There was a line of stitches over his left eyebrow and he was heavily bandaged. She almost didn’t recognize him behind all the plaster and bruising, but he was alive. 

“Stella?” he breathed, weakly turning his head to try to look at her. It hurt so much to move. He felt like he’d been hit by a freight train. Well, a car, but close enough.

“You’re okay,” she whispered, tears of relief flooding her eyes as she carefully lowered herself onto the bed next to him. She knows ‘okay’ is a far cry from how he’s feeling, but he’s here and he’s alive. Frankly, broken bones and a concussion sound pretty damn good right now.

He gingerly lifted his left arm in an invitation to lay down beside him. It was the only thing that he could bear to move. 

She cuddled around him as carefully as she could manage and cried on his shoulder. She could have lost him today. Their babies could have lost their dad. 

Kelly could feel his wife shaking beside him and he could feel her tears soaking through the hospital gown. He hadn’t seen that car speeding toward him until it was too late. The last thought that had gone through his head before his world went black was about what Stella and the kids would do without him. He allowed himself to cry with her. He almost left his babies without a dad today. He flicked his eyes around and he blinked a couple times to clear his vision. Where were they anyway? “Kids?” he rasped.

“Cindy has them,” Stella sniffled. “You scared me.”

“I’m okay,” he whispered, even though it hurt to talk. “It’s okay, I’m here.”

Stella didn’t move from his side until 45 minutes later when a knock turned their attention to the door. Halstead was back. He checked Kelly over then addressed him, “We want to keep you here overnight for observation, and you’ll definitely be off work for a while, but otherwise you should be able to go home tomorrow… as long as you promise to take it easy.”

“Oh he’ll take it easy,” Stella assured him, and Kelly grunted. As much as he hated sitting around, it hurt way too much to do anything else right now. “Thanks, Will,” she said. 


	2. Six Weeks Later

Six weeks later:

“Daddy?” Andy whined, shaking his father’s arm.

“Yeah buddy?” Severide asked groggily, rolling over in bed to face his son.

“Daddy, I hadda bad dweam,” the toddler sniffled. “Dere was a - a monter and it eated you and Mommy and Awes and Weswie and den it come-did at me.”

“It’s okay, Andy, Daddy’s got you. It was just a bad dream,” he said, pulling the little boy into his arms. 

Once there, Andy immediately nestled into his father’s chest. 

Kelly winced as the child’s elbows dug into his ribs.

“Everything okay?” Stella mumbled, rolling over. 

“Yeah,” Kelly rasped, shifting his son to a more comfortable position. “Yeah, we’re good.”

“What time is it?” she asked.

He squinted at the clock, stroking the toddler’s hair. “Four-ish.”

She groaned and rolled out of bed. She figured she might as well get out of bed and start getting ready while she was already awake. Today was her first day back to work and she didn’t want to risk falling back asleep and being late. Originally, her leave was supposed to end three weeks ago; however, after Kelly’s accident, Boden told her she could stay home an additional three.

When she came back into the bedroom from taking a shower, Andy had fallen asleep in his father’s arms. She smiled at the sight, making her way over to her boys. 

She gently picked up the little boy. “I’m gonna take him back to his bed,” she explained quietly.

Kelly nodded his thanks then groaned, rolling out of bed. He hadn’t wanted to disturb his boy trying to sit up, but he did need the restroom.

* * *

“You sure you’re gonna be okay alone with the kids today?” Stella asked a bit later, laying a small pile of clothes in her station bag. “I could still call in.”

“I’m good as new, babe,” he said, “and I’m not even the one going back to work.”

“You’ve still got one arm in a cast. You are  _ not _ good as new,” she countered playfully, “and your children are a bit of a handful.”

“Pretty sure they’re your kids, too,” he returned, quirking an eyebrow at her. “Besides, you had them for a week on your own then you were taking care of them  _ and  _ me for another three before I started being any help. If you can do it, I can do it. No problem.”

She lightly shoved his shoulder. “I’m just worried about you,” she confessed. 

“I’ll be fine,” he assured her, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze. “You just focus on kicking ass today.” 

The baby cried then, interrupting them. 

“Want me to get her?” he asked.

She glanced at the clock. She still had enough time before shift. “Nah, I got her. You rest while you still can because, after this, you’re on your own for a full 24.”

* * *

His morning started off easy. Andy and Alex were still asleep, curled up under their blankets, and Leslie was fast asleep on his chest .

He’d brought her with him to the living room and sat in his lazy chair, laying her on his chest for some skin-to-skin time. She’d fallen back asleep quickly, content after Stella had fed her and changed her diaper earlier. It was super cozy and soon, he had fallen asleep too.

When he woke up again, it was to the sound of something crashing to the ground in the kitchen. He barely had time to pull himself and the baby out of the chair before Alex appeared around the corner, his little brother right behind him. 

“Daddy?” he said cautiously. 

“Are you okay, buddy?” Kelly asked, shifting Leslie into one arm and kneeling in front of his boys. 

Both boys were soaked all down their fronts. 

“Alex, what happened?” 

“Well, Daddy, you was sleepin but me n Andy were hungry and so I got some cereal but the milk slipped and - and - I’m sorry, Daddy.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Kelly said with a soft chuckle. 

“You’re not mad?” Alex asked quietly, ducking his head and scuffing his foot on the floor.

Kelly smiled at his oldest. “Of course not, buddy. It was an accident. You were just trying to be a good big brother.”

The child’s demeanor changed almost instantly and he returned his father’s smile tenfold. He  _ loved  _ being a good big brother. 

“Now, do you think you can take your brother and get both your clothes in the laundry room please? I’ll get the kitchen cleaned up then I’ll come help you, okay?”

………..

Both boys were in the bathroom in their birthday suits when Kelly got back upstairs. He’d brought the bouncer with him and set it on the floor, fastening Leslie into it.

“Daddy baf?” Andy asked.

“We don’t have time for a bath right now, buddy. Your sister’s probably going to be hungry soon. We’re just going to wipe you down then get you dressed again.” He went to the cabinet for a wash cloth.

“Can I do it?” Alex asked.

Kelly nodded, made the cloth damp and handed it over. The older boy might not do a perfect job, but Kelly wasn’t about to discourage offers to help. He could always get anything Alex missed when he’d finished. 

* * *

After making sure the boys got dressed again, getting them some breakfast and starting  _ Wall-E - _ their current favorite movie - for what felt like the millionth time that week, Kelly scooped the pile of clothes off the floor and went to start a load of laundry. There was no way he was going to let the boys’ milk-soaked clothes sit all day. 

He returned to the living room and pulled Leslie out of her bouncer, settling into his easy chair to watch the movie with his boys.

………

He didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep until two pairs of hands were shaking him awake. 

“Daddy ‘gain?” Andy requested.

“What’s that, buddy?” Kelly asked groggily.

“Can me an’ Andy watch it again?” Alex asked. 

“Uh, yeah,” Kelly answered, grabbing the remote to restart the movie. Stella might get on his case when she found out for giving the boys too much screen time and he’d likely be tired of the cute robot by the end of the day, but his boys loved watching it and - if he didn’t fall asleep again - he loved hearing their giggles.

A glance at the time told him he could go switch the laundry over. He carefully repositioned Leslie, who was still asleep on his chest and got up.

* * *

Truck 81 had just rolled back into the station after their first call of the morning when Stella’s phone rang. “Miss me already?” 

“Uh, small issue,” Kelly replied hesitantly. “Did you know diapers explode if they go through the washing machine?”

“Diapers what?!” she replied louder than she intended, drawing the attention of other firefighters still on the app floor. 

Herrmann gave her an inquisitive look and took a curious step in her direction. 

“We had a bit of a spill during breakfast and I just started a load - I must have missed Andy’s pullup. Stel, there’s these tiny beads everywhere and a kind of gel and -”

“Hey Herrmann!” Stella interrupted her husband. She’d noticed the Engine lieutenant eavesdropping and figured she may as well take advantage of his parenting experience.

“No, don’t-” Kelly began to protest, but it was too late. He was never going to hear the end of this.

“Yeah, Kidd?” 

“You ever toss a diaper in the wash?”

“Of course,” he answered with a shrug. “We didn’t use the disposable ones until Kenny was born, and that was because we’d already gotten rid of the cloth ones. Cindy thought it’d be easier to just use Pampers or whatever.”

“I meant a disposable diaper, Herrmann. Did you ever throw one of those in the wash?”

“Ohh, well I didn’t but Lee Henry did once. Cindy asked him to do laundry and he didn’t check it like he was supposed to. Thing exploded all over the washer. Why?”

“Kelly just did the same thing. I’ll let you tell him how to clean it up. I gotta go scrub down my gear,” she explained, handing over the phone. 

* * *

“That’s a look,” Sylvie commented when Stella flopped into the chair next to her with an exaggerated sigh. 

“My adult child just washed a disposable diaper and it exploded all over the inside of our washer.”

The paramedic clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. “How - what are you even going to do with that?”

Stella shrugged. “Dunno. Herrmann has my phone right now. Hopefully he’s got something good for Kelly that doesn’t involve buying a new washing machine.”

As if on cue, the engine lieutenant made his way back into the common room and handed Stella’s phone back to her. “Only thing hurt is his pride.”

“Good thing he’s got plenty of that to spare,” she joked. “Thanks, Herrmann.”

“No worries, Kidd, it’s a simple fix.”

* * *

Kelly sighed, brushing all the tiny beads off of him. Per Herrmann’s instructions, he’d taken the (thankfully small) load of laundry outside and shook it out like a rug. Now he just had to put it back through the wash and he should be good to go. 

Hopefully Stella wouldn’t be too upset at the mishap when she came home. 

* * *

“Mommy, Mommy!” Alex and Andy exclaimed, wiggling out of their chairs when Stella came through the doors. 

“My babies!” Stella exclaimed, wrapping her boys in a big bear hug. 

“We’re not the babies, Mommy. Leslie’s our baby,” Alex corrected.

Stella chuckled, tousling her older son’s hair. “You’ll always be my baby, all three of you. No matter how old you are. Were you good for Daddy?”

Andy nodded excitedly. “Good, Mommy, good!” he repeated.

“Yeah! I maked a mess -”

“You made a mess?” Stella repeated back, acting surprised.

“Yeah, but it was a accident, Mommy. I was just tryna help Daddy.”

“He got himself and Andy some breakfast,” Kelly explained. “The milk spilled.”

“Well that sounds like our little boy is growing up to be super helpful!” Stella exclaimed, resulting in a giant smile from the five year old before he launched into telling everything else they’d done while she was gone. 

She responded to him animatedly, glad her boys had had such a good day with their dad. 

“And how was your day?” she asked her husband when their boys ran off to play in the living room. 

“I love our kids,” he started, “but I am so ready to go back to work. I missed having you here to help control the chaos.” 

She laughed, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a quick kiss. He was right. Their family was crazy… but it was their family. And she loved them all more than anything in the world.


End file.
